Friday, April 20, 2007

How long to make the Blacksburg schizophrenia connection?

I've been curious how long it would take the media to make the obvious connection between the Blacksburg disaster and schizophrenia.

As of today, a Google news search has five hits.

If I were running the planet (be afraid), I'd assemble a group to review what policy, educational, and legal changes should be made to improve the recognition and management of psychotic disorders (schizophrenia, major depression, mania, etc) in young adults. The group would be asked to consider management in the context of families, tribes, and cultures that deny the biological reality of psychiatric disorders. The denial group is large, and it includes most American social conservatives.

As ruler of earth, I'd also ask my science czar (I'd have a large science department) to review research on the prevention and management of schizophrenia, and to review the relationships between autism-spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.

I can only hope the worldmind will see things my way, and that the hit count will be higher a week from now.

Update 4/21/07
: There's been much more discussion about the schizophrenia (and even autism) connection, including a Slate article that linked to an FBI analysis of the Columbine murders. That's a link worth following, btw.

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